


Okay

by Saedyn



Series: After the Snap [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), genderless reader, male or female
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 00:13:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14726291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saedyn/pseuds/Saedyn
Summary: The Snap didn't only affect Earth's mightiest heroes.





	Okay

**Author's Note:**

> It's possible that I might continue this story, but as of right now it's only this one chapter. I hope you enjoy!

"(y/n), I'm scared..."

"Shh... I know.  We're gonna be okay, just don't worry."

You sat on the sofa in the den, your little brother clinging to you as you watched TV.  You longed to watch anything that could distract him, but the news channels had been broadcasting all day on every channel, and you knew that not letting him watch anything would just stress him out more.

"The Avengers are gonna stop them, right?"

"Of course, Dustin, they always do."  You tried to say it in the most reassuring way possible, but even you could hear the doubt laced into the sentence.

No one knew quite what was going on.  The news had first come on this morning during Dustin's favorite show "Thor and Friends."  That alone was enough to make him start crying.  It didn't help when reports started flooding in that aliens had shown up in New York, and that Tony Stark, along with a few other vigilantes, had gone missing.  You weren't quite old enough to remember the first time aliens invaded New York in full detail, but you knew that it definitely wasn't good.  All schools in the United States closed before the first few students could walk in the door, and your parents both ran out to stock up on supplies in case this turned into something huge, which left you at home watching your brothers: Dustin, who was nearly suffocating you at this point, and Turner, who was sleeping peacefully in his crib.

"This just in, we're getting reports that the aliens have appeared in Wakanda.  We can't get any clear visuals as they're still a rather closed off country, but whatever is going on there, it's big."

"No!"  Dustin ran up to the TV to get a closer look at the tiny picture they had of Wakanda on the screen.  From what you could see, it just looked like a blue bubble.  "They're gonna hurt Black Panther!"

"Black Panther?  I don't think I know that one.  Tell me about him."

"YOU DON'T KNOW BLACK PANTHER???"

His outraged tone made you smile.  Of course you knew who Black Panther was, but Dustin  _loved_ talking, and more than talking, he loved explaining things.  You saw this as an opportunity to take his mind off of the chaos, if only momentarily.  You let him go on, telling you about every single hero (or villain) he knew, which was surprisingly a lot considering he was only six.

"The shields have gone down, I repeat, the shields have gone down.  We're trying to get better visuals now, but we can confirm that among the fighting are Captain America and the King of Wakanda himself," The news anchor announced.

"I wish Thor was there," Dustin said bitterly.  "He could take those aliens down in like, three-and-a-quarter seconds."  You smiled.  Thor was hands down his favorite avenger.

"What's this?  We're having some disturbances in the skies...  Ladies and gentlemen, Thor is on the battlefield!  Along with some back up that appears to be a raccoon and... a tree?"

"THOR!!!!" Dustin screamed.  He seemed completely unphased by the second half of that report.

The battle continued on, and because Thor was involved now, there was no point in trying to distract your brother anymore.  Unfortunately, when one brother isn't seeking attention, the other is.  Dustin's triumphant scream upon Thor's arrival woke up Turner, who was now crying.  You made your way into the other room to comfort him.

"Shhhhh... I know, I know, Mom is much better at this but you gotta bear with me until she gets back, okay?"  You bounced your brother in your arms in an attempt to replicate your mother.  It didn't work.  "Hey, shhhh, you're okay.  You're calm.  You're happy.  Okay?"  Somehow, that worked.  You weren't sure why, but that always worked on Dustin when all else failed, and apparently it worked on Turner too.  Good to know.

"(y/n)?" Dustin called from the den.  He sounded scared, concerned even.  You put Turner back in his crib as delicately as possible, and hurried back into the den.  "I don't know that one."

He pointed at the screen, his hand trembling.  You looked where he was pointing.  The footage was blurry, and not terribly close, so it was hard to make out what was going on, but there seemed to be a man, clearly not human, who was... what was he doing?  It looked like he was ripping something out of someone else's (who also did  _not_ look human) head.  A girl (who you're pretty sure is called Scarlet Witch) was on the ground nearby, screaming and crying.

"Dustin, maybe it's time to stop watching this."

He didn't need to be told twice.  He buried his face into your shirt, his back turned on the TV screen.  You were almost jealous of him, because you couldn't manage to make yourself look away.  You watched every brutal second of it even though it disgusted you.  You let out a sigh of relief when you saw what was unmistakably Thor delivering a fatal blow to the purple man.

"Is it over?" Dustin's feeble voice asked through the fabric of your shirt.

"Yeah, it's over.  You were right, Thor saved the day."

Dustin smiled up at you, sniffling, and wiped his nose on your shirt.  You normally would've been disgusted at this, but you let it go under the circumstances.  "Oops," he said, realizing what he'd just done.  "I'm sorry..." Tears started welling in his eyes again.

"Don't worry about it, it's okay."  You paused for a second to hug him.  "We're okay."

Just then, the footage on the news went to static.  "I'm sorry folks, but it appears we've just lost our cameras..." the screen switched back to the anchor.  She looked startled.  "We're not sure what the problem is but we're trying to identify..."  Her gaze wandered past the camera. "Oh my god, Greg?"  She stood up and rushed off screen, leaving the news set empty.  You could hear screams, but not screams of fear; they were anguished, confused, and completely broken.

"(y/n), what's happening?"  You could hear the fear rising in his voice again.  You forced his wandering eyes away from the TV to look at you.

"Dustin, listen to me."  The water works were staring again, and it took every inch of strength you had to not start crying as well. "You're calm, you're happy, you're okay".  He was absolutely sobbing now.  If you were upset that he got snot on your shirt before, well, let's just say this didn't make it any better.  You kept on repeating that phrase, shutting your eyes so you could focus on nothing but it, because if it worked for them it could work for you too.  You felt his grip on you loosen, and his sobs started to quiet.  "We're okay, Dustin, we're okay."

You opened your eyes, expecting to bend down and wipe his tears away, except there were no tears.  In fact, there was no Dustin anymore, only ashes at your feet where he had been standing.  "What the hell..." you whispered under your breath.  "Dustin?  Dustin this isn't funny!" You wanted so badly for this to be a joke, but you knew that wasn't possible. You couldn't keep a brave face, not anymore.  You dropped down on the ground in utter disbelief.  You didn't know what to do.  You ran to grab your phone, thinking of your parents, tears streaming down your face now.

"Come on, pick up, pick up!" you screamed into the phone-- but the only answer you got after your fourth try was a small cry coming from the next room.  Turner.  You practically dropped your phone and ran into the nursery.  He was okay.  Sure he was crying, but he was  _okay_.  You smiled, despite the whirlpool of despair you were feeling, and picked him up.  You didn't make any attempt to shush him this time; you needed to hear him, to know he was  _still there_.  For a while, you just stood there, crying together, because you just couldn't make yourself put him down.

"It's alright," you whispered.  "We're okay."

You put him back in his crib, and he peacefully fell asleep, blissfully unaware that the world around him was falling apart.


End file.
